The present invention relates to contractor vehicles and more particularly to a vehicle body for carrying equipment and materials used by contractors.
Vehicles used by contractors or workers such as plumbers and garage door installers frequently include trucks or trailers having racks mounted on top. Loading ladders and/or materials on top of the vehicles ladder rack is a source of injury. Not only must workers lift large and/or heavy items above their head to load them on the vehicle rack, but the ladders and materials also are susceptible to falling off the rack during transport, potentially causing injury to persons in other vehicles. When a worker loads and unloads ladders and/or materials from the ladder rack, they must lift the large and/or heavy items above their head, potentially straining their backs. Further, the workers may lose control of the load, damaging property or injuring themselves. In some cases, ladders must be used to position the items on the rack, presenting a potential for the worker to fall off the ladder while loading or unloading the items from the ladder rack. In addition, items stored on the rack are susceptible to weather damage and theft. Moreover, the racks do not provide a storage system in which different types and lengths of materials can be sorted.
Thus, there is a need for a worker vehicle in which ladders and materials need not be lifted overhead to load and unload. Further, there is a need for a vehicle that securely manages the ladders and/or materials to prevent theft, loss, and damage due to weather. Lastly, there is a need for a material inventory control system that permits workers to sort differing materials and different likes of similar materials.